Wayne State University

GLIAC Announces Winter 2012 Commissioner's Award Recipients

BAY CITY, Mich. --
The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC)
announces the recipients of the Winter 2012 Meijer
Commissioner’s Awards. The awards, sponsored by Meijer,
Incorporated, are presented after the Fall, Winter, and Spring
athletic seasons to six female and six male student-athletes that
excel both in the classroom and on the fields of play. All grade
point averages are based on a 4.0 scale.

The six female student-athletes to
receive the Winter 2012 Meijer Commissioner’s Awards are:
Jena Stutzman of Ashland University,
Shelby Janutol of Ferris State University;
Kristen Hixson and Caitlyn Madsen
of Grand Valley State University; Mandy Jaeb of
Tiffin University, and Catherine Leix of Wayne
State University.

The six male student-athletes to
receive the Winter 2012 Meijer Commissioner’s Awards
are: John Guagenti of the University of
Findlay; Austin Biefnes and Guy
Kogel of the University of Indianapolis; Mike
Hojnacki of Michigan Technological University; and
Fares Ksebati and Ian Larkin of
Wayne State University.

“It is with great pride that
I acknowledge the amazing accomplishments of our 12 award winners.
These student-athletes will make outstanding contributions in their
respective communities as well nationally in their areas of
study.” stated GLIAC Commissioner Dell Robinson. “I
would like thank Meijer for their continued support that allows the
GLIAC to honor our top student-athletes.”

The following are biographies of
the Winter 2012 GLIAC Commissioner’s Awards recipients:

Senior basketball player
Jenna Stutzman (Berlin, Ohio/Hiland) is a
two-time, first team All-GLIAC performer. Stutzman helped lead AU
to a 33-2 record and a berth in the NCAA Division II title game in
2011-12. She averaged 15.3 points per game and was 12th in the
GLIAC in scoring. Stuzman was a strong outside shooter finishing
the 2011-12 season ranked 12th in the country in three-point field
goals per game (2.8). She established a school, single-season
record for three-pointers (98) and leaves AU second in career
three-pointers (142). Stutzman was named to the GLIAC
All-Tournament Team, the NCAA Midwest Regional All-Tournament Team
and the NCAA Elite Eight All-Tournament Team. She had a
career-high 32 points in the Division II championship game against
Shaw University (N.C.). She averaged 15.6 ppg., in her two
seasons at AU. Stutzman is a child and family studies major with a
3.61 cumulative GPA.

Shelby Janutol (Troy,
Mich.), a junior distance runner, has excelled in the
classroom and in athletic competition since arriving at Ferris
State. Janutol is a three-time GLIAC All-Academic Team honoree in
both track and cross country. She became the school’s
first-ever NCAA Elite 89 Award recipient for holding the highest
grade point average of all female competitors at the 2012 NCAA
Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships. At the 2012
NCAA meet, Janutol helped the women’s distance medley relay
squad to a fourth-place overall performance in a school-record time
of 11:36.37 and earned All-America honors. Janutol is a biology
major and currently has a 4.00 GPA.

Grand Valley State sophomore pole
vaulter Kristen Hixson (Remus, Mich./Chippewa
Hills) won the D-II pole vault championship this past
indoor season, clearing a height of 4.00 meters to help lead the
Laker track and field team to their second consecutive team
national championship. Hixson finished in the top 10 of every meet
she participated in during the indoor season and placed second at
the 2012 GLIAC Indoor Championship. She was a GLIAC All-Academic
Excellence honoree in 2012 and now has three top five national
championship meet finishes in her career. Hixson finished second at
the 2011 NCAA Division II Outdoor Championship and fourth at the
2011 NCAA Division II Indoor Championship. She won the 2011 GLIAC
Outdoor Championship and finished second at the 2011 GLIAC Indoor
Championship. Hixson was named All-Region and All-Academic by the
U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association in
2011 and earned the honor of being both the indoor and outdoor
GLIAC “Freshman Field Athlete of the Year” in 2011.
Hixson carries a 3.93 GPA and is majoring in biology.

Grand Valley State junior
Caitlyn Madsen (West Chicago, Ill.) earned six
All-America honors at the 2012 NCAA DII Swimming and Diving
Championships as the Lakers finished sixth in the team standings.
Madsen finished 10th in the 200 yard breaststroke (2:02.18), 11th
in the 100 yard butterfly (56.29) and 11th in the 200 yard
butterfly (2:01.88). In addition, she swam on three relays that
earned All-America honors. Madsen claimed seven All-GLIAC honors,
including a GLIAC title in the 200 yard butterfly (2:01.45).
Caitlyn, who is a 12-time All-American, was a GLIAC All-Academic
Excellence honoree and a member of the Dean’s List. Madsen
has a 3.84 GPA in biomedical science.

Mandy Jaeb (Louisville,
Ohio) earned her third consecutive First Team All-GLIAC
honor and her third All-GLIAC Defensive team honor this season as
she helped lead Tiffin’s women’s basketball team to a
new school record with 21 wins. She led Tiffin in five offensive
categories which included points per game, field goals, free
throws, assists, and steals. Jaeb posted the first triple-double in
school history against Findlay on December 15, 2011 with 11 points,
11 assists, and 10 rebounds. Jaeb set new career records during the
season for most free throws made while finishing with 1,585 career
points. She was named to the All-Academic Excellence Team for the
third straight year earning a 3.69 GPA while majoring in
management.

Senior Catherine Leix
(Flint, Mich./Southwestern) repeated as GLIAC champion in
the 500 yard and 1650 yard freestyles in 2012. She was also an
integral part of the 800 yard freestyle relay which won both
conference and national championships. A 16-time All-American in
her career, Leix was a top-eight finisher in all three individual
distance freestyle events at the NCAA Championships in March,
contributing greatly to the overall Division II team title earned
by the WSU women’s squad. The education major has been named
to the WSU Athletic Director’s Honor Roll (term GPA 3.5+)
every semester with a cumulative GPA of 3.95. She is also a
four-time GLIAC All-Academic honoree, a two-time
Commissioner’s Award winner and the recipient of the
Dean’s Award for the Wayne State College of Education.

Findlay senior John
Guagenti (Bluffton, Ohio) has been selected for his second
Commissioner’s Awards in as many years. Guagenti was a member
of the GLIAC All-Academic Excellence Team during the winter sports
season with a 3.84 GPA. A business management major, Guagenti was
tabbed the 2011-12 Midwest Region “Athlete of the
Year”, and the GLIAC Indoor Track and Field “Athlete of
the Year” after winning both the 200-meter and 400-meter
dashes. At the NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field
Championship, Guagenti earned All-American awards in the 400-meter
and 4x400-meter relay.

Senior Austin Biefnes
(Aurora, Colo./Grandview) is a three-time GLIAC
All-Academic Excellence Award winner that won the consolation
finals in the 200 yard backstroke and 400 yard individual medley at
the 2012 GLIAC Swimming and Diving Championships to help the
Greyhounds finish third. He was also 10th in the 200 yard IM at
GLIACs after he won the 400 yard IM and 1,000 yard freestyle in a
dual meet at Ashland. Biefnes finishes his career fourth all-time
on the UIndy list in the 200 yard back stroke, 200 yard IM and 400
yard IM. Biefnes has a 3.99 GPA majoring in chemistry with an
emphasis on pre-med.

Senior Guy Kogel (Nahalal,
Israel) is a two-time UIndy swimming “MVP”
after earning first team All-American honors at the 2012 NCAA
Swimming and Diving Championships by taking seventh in the 200 yard
butterfly, 200 yard medley relay and 400 yard medley relay. He was
also an honorable mention All-American by winning the consolation
final in the 100 yard fly and 12th in the 400 yard free relay to
lead the Greyhounds to 12th in the country. Kogel was runner-up in
the 100 yard fly, 200 yard fly and 200 yard medley relay at the
GLIAC Championships to help UIndy take third. Over the course of
the season, Kogel won 14 events and finished his career as the
school record holder in the 200 yard fly and 200 yard and 400 yard
medley relays. Kogel is currently working on his master’s in
business administration at UIndy after graduating with a degree in
computer science with a 3.73 GPA.

Mike Hojnacki (Milwaukee,
Wis./New Berlin Eisenhower) finished his career with 1,288
points, 15th most in Michigan Tech history. He earned Academic
All-District IV Honors twice and All-GLIAC North Division Second
Team accolades. Hojnacki was named the team’s top newcomer
his freshman season and the team’s most valuable player as a
sophomore. He earned GLIAC All-Academic Excellence honors three
times and graduated with a 3.69 GPA in mechanical engineering.

Junior Fares Ksebati
(Grosse Point Farms, Mich./Grosse Pointe South), a
Dean’s Award winner for the Wayne State School of Business
Administration, is a two-time GLIAC All-Academic Excellence
honoree. He finished 11th in the 1650 yard freestyle, 12th in the
100 yard breaststroke and 16th in the 200 breaststroke,
contributing to Wayne State’s successful defense of the GLIAC
Men’s Swimming and Diving Championship.

Ian Larkin (Detroit,
Mich./Renaissance), a junior at Wayne State, was a Second
Team All-GLIAC selection as well as a GLIAC All-Academic Excellence
Team member for the 2011-12 academic year. He led the conference in
three-point field goal percentage (57.1 on 28-of-49), was fourth in
both field goal percentage (57.9 on 99-of-171) and blocked shots
(1.6 per game), tied-for-eighth in offensive rebounds (2.1 per
game), was 14th in scoring (13.4 ppg), and 20th in rebounding (5.4
rpg), while starting all 27 games. Larkin also set a career-high
with 43 blocked shots. He scored in double figures 19 times and
will enter his senior year with 651 career points. A
business/management major, he has been on the academic honor roll
every semester including cumulative GPA of 3.68.